St Peter

Summary

A simple
drama about Jesus' prediction of Peter's denial, the denial itself and
Jesus' post-resurrection words to Peter.

A
discussion about what we can learn from St Peter today.

People

An adult
or confident reader to be the narrator.

Two older
children to read the parts of Jesus and Peter.

Three
children to question Peter before the cock crows.

A child
to hold up a picture of a cockerel.

An adult
to lead the discussion after the drama.

Props

Six
copies of the simple script (from Matthew 26-7 & John 21) that is
provided below: one for each part, with each reader's words highlighted
on his/her copy.

A picture
of a cockerel crowing: it doesn't matter whether this is hand-drawn,
taken from a book or downloaded from the web (but be careful what you
enter into an internet search engine!), so long as it is clearly visible
when held up for the congregation. Alternatively you might have a
toy cockerel that you could use.

Preparation

Pass out
the readers' parts at the start of the service.

Give the
picture/toy cockerel to a child, and arrange a signal on which s/he will
hold it up. If the child is old enough to follow the story then
s/he could take the words "I tell you I don't know the man" as a cue.
Otherwise you could arrange a hand signal.

Before
the play begins, you need to have the congregation practice crowing when
the child holds up the picture.

Teaching Notes

Peter was
a fisherman who left everything to follow Jesus. When he first met
Jesus his name was not Peter but Simon. Peter means "rock", and Jesus
called Simon "Peter" because he was going to be the rock on which the
Christian church was built. But Peter was only human, and there was a
time when he let Jesus down very badly.

It is
helpful to read the script as three separate scenes, so that just the
readers involved in each scene stand at the front. You can then
talk to the children between scenes about how they think that Peter might
have been feeling at that time, and fill in a bit more detail about what
happened between each scene (see Matthew 26-8, Mark 14-6, Luke 22-4 &
John 13, 18-21).

After the
script has been read, help the children to reflect on how Jesus gave
Peter a second chance, and how Peter's story offers hope to all of us:
Jesus can use even the weakest human being to do His work, and like Peter
we today can always turn to Him for forgiveness and a second
chance.

Matthew 26-27 and John 21: A Simple
Drama

Scene 1

Narrator:Jesus and his special friends, the twelve disciples,
had shared a meal together. Now they were in the garden at
Gethsemane. Jesus said:
Jesus:Tonight every one of you will lose his faith in
me.Peter:Even if everyone should lose his faith in you, I never
will!Jesus:I tell you, Peter, that tonight, before the cock
crows, you will disown me three times.Peter:Even if it means dying with you I will never disown
you.Narrator:And all the other disciples said the same.

Scene 2

Narrator:When Jesus was arrested, all of his disciples
deserted him and made their escape. Jesus was taken to the High
Priest's house. Peter followed Him at a distance, right up to the High
Priest's courtyard. Then he went inside and sat down with the servants
and waited to see the end. A maidservant came up to him and said,
Maidservant:Weren't you too with Jesus, the man from
Galilee?Peter:I don't know what you're talking about.Servant 2:This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.Peter:I don't know the man!Servant 3:You certainly are one of them, it's obvious from your
accent.Peter: I tell you I don't know the man!THE COCK CROWS
Narrator:As soon as he heard
the cock crow, the words of Jesus came back into Peter's mind - "Before the
cock crows you will disown me three times." And he went outside and
wept bitterly.

Scene 3

Narrator:After Jesus had been crucified, and had
risen from the dead on Easter morning, he showed himself to his disciples
on the shore of Lake Tiberias. The disciples had been fishing all
night. Just as dawn began to break, Jesus stood there on the beach,
although the disciples had no idea that it was Jesus.
Jesus:Have you caught anything, lads?
Peter:No.
Jesus:Throw the net on the right side of the
boat, and you'll have a catch.
Narrator:So they threw out the net and found that
they were now not strong enough to pull it in because it was so full of
fish! At this, the disciples recognised Jesus and Peter plunged into the
sea while the other disciples followed in the boat. They saw that a
charcoal fire was burning on the beach, and they shared a breakfast of
bread and fish with Jesus. Afterwards Jesus said to Simon Peter:
Jesus:Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these
others?
Peter:Yes, Lord. You know that I am your
friend.
Jesus:Then feed my lambs. Simon, son of John, do you
love me?
Peter:Yes, Lord. You know that I am your friend.
Jesus:Then care for my sheep. Simon, son of John,
are you my friend?
Peter:Lord, you know everything. You know that I am
your friend!
Jesus:Then feed my sheep. You must follow me.

[This
script is an adaptation of J. B. Phillips's translation of Matthew 26-27
and John 21, taken from "The New Testament in Modern English", Revised
Edition,ã1958,
1960, 1972]